


Sorry I guess?

by AlexewithanE



Series: The Sorenson siblings go to college. What can possibly go wrong? [2]
Category: Fablehaven Series - Brandon Mull
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Kendra is overbearing, Seth and Kendra are in college, Seth and Kendra move in together, Seth is a bit of a crappy roomate at first, and become roommates, i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-18 15:33:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29860233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexewithanE/pseuds/AlexewithanE
Summary: When Seth goes to college, he moves into an apartment with his sister. They soon realize that they aren't used to living with each other anymore, after two years appart.*In which Seth tries to apologize for being a crappy roommate by cooking and cleaning, but Kendra isn't having any of it. So he has to actually say sorry. Ugh.
Relationships: Kendra Sorenson & Seth Sorenson
Series: The Sorenson siblings go to college. What can possibly go wrong? [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2195928
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	Sorry I guess?

**Author's Note:**

> First, you don't have to read the first part of the series (The Perks of Saving the World) to understand, but it chronologically follows it.  
> Second, I barely went over this. There might be a few mistakes. Feel free to point them out and I'll correct them.  
> Third, English isn't my first langage.  
> Finally, I'm an only child. I don't know anything about having siblings.  
> Sorry in advance for all of that. Enjoy!

Seth was moving out of Fablehaven and he was far from certain it would be as much fun as everyone was telling him. Sure, college seemed cool. He’d probably make plenty of friends on the first day, like he always did. Having an active social life had never been a problem, even while being home-schooled. Seth wasn’t scared to meet new people. The only scary part about this whole moving out process wasn’t the moving out itself, but the moving in with his sister. Now, if someone could suck all the fun out of anything, it was Kendra. And the thing is, Seth wanted to have fun. He wanted to have loads of it, as soon and as much as possible. But his sister had a very different idea of fun, and Seth already knew that parties at the apartment were out of the question. 

Kendra already had two years of college done. She’d lived with two of her friends until now, Gabi and Simon, but their parents had decided it would be cheaper if the both of them lived together from now on, and, since they were the ones paying, Seth and Kendra agreed. Neither of them was financially independent yet, Kendra’s job not paying enough for her to afford more then the weekly groceries and Seth having already spent half of his summer savings on boots and a camouflage kit for his escapades in the forest, much to his family’s exasperation.

“You’re moving in a big city half-way across the country,” Kendra had said. “Where will you use a hunting coat?”

“I’m not staying there forever, am I? We’re going back to the preserve for Thanksgiving and Christmas. And spring break, and then summer.”

“Still, you could’ve saved the money for daily expenses, like food or bus tickets. You should learn to prioritize, Seth,” she had said in a lecturing tone that made him want to disconnect the call in the middle of her sentence. These kinds of conversations only confirmed the annoyance that Kendra would be now that there were going to live together after two years apart.

And, as he predicted, she became a pain in the ass the very first day he arrived. 

“Seth, help me empty the kitchen box instead of watching me do all the work”, “Seth, why don’t you clean the washroom? I don’t want to shower with the drain all clogged”, “Seth, don’t touch this! It’s fragile!”, “Seth, this”, “Seth that”. Yeah. It had been a day and he was already tired of it.

Really, he did miss his sister in the two years she’d been out of the house. He hadn’t realized how big a part she played in his life. He was used to making fun of her on a daily basis, for sure, but after all they’d been through together, she also became a reassuring presence around him, whenever life became too much to bear. He could talk to her pretty much anytime, whether a nightmare woke him up at three a.m. or he needed advice on whatever subject (which he didn’t ask for very often, but it was nice to know he had the option). Needless to say, it took a while adjusting to Kendra being gone. He would never admit it to anyone else, but the first few nights, he texted her, to make sure she was still alive. Just to be safe. After all, he wasn’t there to protect her anymore and vice versa. They tended to work better together, no matter how opposite their personalities were. It was nerve racking to be separated for a long period of time after having it engrained in their brains for half of their teenage years that it was them two against the world and to trust no one outside of themselves. 

But eventually, he got used to it. The nightly messages became weekly check ups. Life went on. They still called from time to time, when one of them saw something funny that made them think of the other. Sometimes it was just a ridiculous meme they would stumble upon; others, it was Seth telling her about Dale spitting milk by his nose or Kendra sending a snapchat of Simon doing weird faces. They kept in touch from afar.

Finding Kendra’s bras in his laundry pile wasn’t from afar, though. Neither was walking into the washroom while she sat on the toilet. None of that really bothered him—they’d seen each other in worst positions before. But she was everywhere; all the time, talking, giving advice, making rules; and it slowly started to get on his nerves.

To be fair, he was pretty sure the feeling was mutual. Kendra probably got used to living with wise and calm people who went to bed at nine and got up early to do their schoolwork in advance. Kendra and Seth were very different people who probably got along better in small doses of each other.

Let it be said that Seth really, really tried. For an entire month, he refrained from going to parties. He didn’t invite friends over more than once or twice a week, and never on a weeknight. He even did some laundry, kept his room more or less tidy, did the dishes and cooked diner twice. If you asked him, he was nailing this whole responsible-adult-life-thingy. He deserved a pat on the shoulder. 

But apparently, he still didn’t measure up to Kendra’s standards. “No, Seth, the mugs go in this cupboard. No, putting it with the glasses isn’t the same thing. And this pan is still wet, you can put it in the cupboard wet. It’s going to create bacteria.” “Seth, don’t put warm food in the fridge, it’ll go sour.” “Seth, fold the towels like this, not like this.” Always a small comment to tell him how to do this or that, or to point out every flaw in his method. She even disapproved of his sleeping pattern. After a few weeks, he decided enough was enough.

“Kendra, can you just shut up, please?” he exclaimed one morning when, as soon as he woke up, she started going on and on about maintaining healthy habits, waking up early and eating fruits for breakfast, instead of ‘this rabbit poop’ as she called his chocolate cereals. “I just got up,” he continued, “and, honestly, I don’t care about your diet advice. I’m doing just fine with my processed food.” He didn’t give her time to reply, gulping down the rest of the milk in the bowl and storming out of the kitchen to go get ready for class. When he came out of the washroom, Kendra was already gone.

He shouldn’t feel guilty. He had a right to some goddamn peace and quiet. Kendra may be older than him by not even two years, but she wasn’t his mom and it certainly was not her responsibly to tell him what to do. She had to understand that at some point, right? But Seth couldn’t help but remember that his sister was sensitive and feared he might find her crying when coming back home in the evening. He didn’t use to care that much about making her cry, but after seeing her shed tears for much more serious reasons (their parent’s abduction, Lena’s death, Paton going back to the past, Gavin’s betrayal; to name only those), he had decided he didn’t want her to cry ever again—at least not because of him.

As the day went on, his frustration settled down, and it occured to him that, as overbearing as Kendra had been, he hadn’t exactly discouraged her. She cooked almost every night for the both of them. Coffee was always ready when he got up in the morning. And, even though he did do a few chores around the apartment, Kendra did most of it, on top of earning the money necessary to buy groceries and other essentials like toilet paper or soap. He had let her take on most the responsibilities, despite what he had thought at first. He basically let her mother him. And, to show his gratitude, Seth had been rude and yelled at her.

What a great roommate he was. She probably missed Gabi and Simon so much, right now.

Kendra still wasn’t back when he got there. Wanting to make up for his month of slacking, he decided to cook diner. He still thought he deserved a pat on the shoulder for going from doing nothing at all back at the preserve to taking care of his basic needs without being told, but he also realized that he had to improve on taking care of all his needs instead of letting someone do it for him. He would start slow, step by step, until he proved Kendra that she didn’t need to keep him on track anymore, that he could take care of himself. 

When Kendra arrived, the kitchen smelled of garlic and tomatoe sauce. She slowly put down her bag, a puzzled expression on her face. “What’s the occasion?” 

“Do I need a reason to cook?” retorted Seth.

She stared at him blankly. “Yes.”

He made a face. “Okay, that’s fair.”

“So?”

He scratched the back of his neck and shrugged. “I dunno. I thought spaghetti would be nice.” 

He took out two plates and handed one to her. She took it, still bewildered. “It is. Thanks.”

They didn’t talk, eating in silence. Seth was scrolling on his phone, checking on Facebook how everyone was doing back home. Kendra was writing in her notebook. A few years back, when he didn’t know anything about boundaries, he would’ve asked if she was writing about a Bracken or someone else she might have a crush on. Now, the thought didn’t even cross his mind. When they finished eating, Kendra went to take his plate. “No, no, leave it,” he said. “I’ll do the dishes.”

Kendra squinted suspiciously at him. “Ok, what’s going on? First you lash out at me this morning, now you’re making diner and you’re offering to clean... What do you want?”

“I don’t want anything. Can’t you just, I dunno, let me help?” 

She frowned. “I don’t know what you’re up to, but…”

“I’m not up to anything!” He threw his hand in the air in exasperation. “Damn, you’re really gonna make me say it, aren’t you? Alright. I’m sorry, I guess?”

Kendra blinked at him a few times before smiling. “There, it wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“You’re insufferable.”

“Yeah, sure. Now, what was it about you doing the dishes?”

Seth rolled his eyes, taking the plates and heading towards the sink. “Just shut up about it.”

She laughed and picked up a towel.

“What are you doing? You just said…”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t help, does it?”

He rolled his eyes, hiding a smile. “Sure. Whatever.” 

They washed the dishes in companionable silence, the tension between them finally melting away after a month of tip towing around each other. “You know, Seth, you could’ve just told me I was annoying.”

“Right,” he said. “As if that would’ve stopped you.”

“I’m a good listener,” she simply answered. 

“I know, I know,” he sighed. Then, just to dissipate the moment, he shook his soaking hands at her, sending a myriad of water drops at her.

“Hey! Stop it!” she screamed, trying to get away. But he followed her in the living room just to further annoy her by drying his hand on her shirt. “I swear to god, Seth…” She twisted her towel into a whip instead of finishing her threat, looking at him dead in the eyes. He had no doubt she would come after him with her new weapon. 

“Well, what are you waiting for?” he said.

Needless to say, the rest of the evening wasn’t spent apologizing.

**Author's Note:**

> If you have any request where Seth and Kendra are in college or roommates or in the real world or all of that at once, I would be happy to write it. Thanks for reading!


End file.
